Abstract
Soils and aboveground production in five types of upland forest in the Florida Keys were examined. Throughout the habitat gradient represented by these forest types, the soils were predominantly shallow and organic, forming in place directly on the limestone bedrock. However, the well-drained soils in the most productive broadleaved forests were deep enough to qualify as Histosols (Folists). Soils decreased in electrical conductivity and increased in nutrient content with increasing aboveground production. At 3–12 Mg ha−1 yr−1, production was within the range reported for dry tropical forests. Measured rates of decomposition were moderate or fast, and estimates of the organic C turnover of several soils based on their bomb radiocarbon signature were 100 years or less. In the face of these rapid turnover rates, we attribute the development of organic soils to the absence of mineral residues from weathering of the underlying limestone bedrock. Fast turnover of organic matter, and rapid and efficient cycling of nutrients are necessary to sustain the high production rates obtained on these shallow organic soils.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adu J K and Oades J M 1978 Physical factors affecting decomposition of organic materials in soil aggregates. Soil Biol. Biochem. 10, 109–115.
Bremner J M 1965 Total nitrogen. In Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 2. Ed. C A Black. pp. 1149–1179. American Society of Agronomy, Madison, WI.
Brown S, Gillespie A J R and Lugo A E 1989 Biomass estimation methods for tropical forests with applications to forest inventory data. For. Sci. 38, 881–902.
Clark A III and Taras M A 1976 Comparison of aboveground biomass of the four major southern pines. For. Prod. J. 26, 25–29.
Coultas C L 1977 Soils of the Apalachicola National Forest wetlands. Part 2: cypress and gum swamps. Soil and Crop Sci. Soc. of FL. Proc. 37, 154–159.
Covington W W and Aber J D 1980 Leaf production during secondary succession in northern hardwoods. Ecology 61, 200–204.
Dolan T J, Hermann A J, Bayley S E and Zoltek J Jr 1984 Evapotranspiration of a Florida, USA, freshwater wetland. J. Hydrol. 74, 355–371.
Duever M J, Carlson J E, Meeder J F, Duever L C, Gunderson L H, Riopelle L A, Alexander T R, Myers R L and Spangler D P 1986 The Big Cypress National Preserve. Research Report No. 8, National Audubon Society, New York. 455 pp.
German E R 2000 Regional evaluation of evapotranspiration in the Everglades. US Geological Survey Water Resources Investigations Report 00–4217. Tallahassee, FL, USA.
Hanson C E 1980 The freshwater resources of Big Pine Key. US Department of the Interior Geologic Survey. Open file report 80–447.
Hassink J 1992 Effects of soil texture and structure on C and N mineralization in grassland soils. Biol. Fert. Soils 14, 126–134.
Hoffmeister J D and Multer H G 1968 Geology and origin of the Florida Keys. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 79, 1487–1502.
Hsieh Y P 1989 Dynamics of soil organic matter formation in croplands-conceptual analysis. Sci. Total Environ. 81/82, 381–390.
Hsieh Y P 1992 Pool size and mean age of the stable soil organic carbon in croplands. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 56, 460–464.
Hsieh Y P 1993 The radiocarbon signatures of turnover rates in active soil organic carbon pools. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 57, 1020–1022.
Hsieh Y P and Weber O J 1984 Net aerial primary production and dynamics of organic matter formation in a tidal marsh ecosystem. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 48, 65–72.
Ish-Shalom-Gordon N, Sternberg L, Ross M S, O'Brien J J and Flynn L J 1992Water utilization of tropical hardwood hammocks of the Lower Florida Keys. Oecologia 92, 108–112.
Jackson ML 1958 Soil Chemical Analysis. Prentice-Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
Kapos V 1986 Dry limestone forests of Jamaica. In Forests of Jamaica. Eds. D A Thompson, D K Bretting and M Humphreys. pp. 49–58. Jamaican Society of Scientists and Technologists, Kingston, Jamaica.
Klute A 1965 Water capacity. In Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 1. Ed. C A Black. pp. 274–277. Amer. Soc. of Agronomy, Madison, WI.
Lidz B H and Shinn E A 1991 Paleoshorelines, reefs, and a rising sea: South Florida, U.S.A. J. Coast. Res. 7, 203–229.
Liming F G 1957 Homemade dendrometers. J. For. 55, 575–577.
Lugo A E and P G Murphy 1986 Nutrient dynamics of a Puerto Rican subtropical dry forest. J. Trop. Ecol. 2, 55–72.
Martinez-Yrizar A 1995 Biomass distribution and primary productivity of tropical dry forests. In Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests. Eds. S H Bullock, H A Mooney and E Medina. pp. 326–345. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
Meadows D G, Caballero J P, Kruse S E, Vacher H L and Ross M S In press Variation of salinity in brackish-water lenses of two Florida Keys. J. Coast. Res.
Mehlich A 1984 Mehlich III soil extractant, a modification of Mehlich II extractant. Comm. Soil Sci. Plant Anal. 15, 1409–1416.
Minderman G 1968 Addition, decomposition and accumulation of organic matter in forests. J. Ecol. 56, 355–362.
Murphy P G and Lugo A E 1986 Ecology of tropical dry forest. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 17, 67–88.
Olsen J R and Sommers L E 1982 Phosphorus. In Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 2. Eds. R H Miller and D R Sommers. pp. 403–430. Amer. Soc. Agron., Madison, WI.
Pritchett W L 1979 Properties and management of forest soils. Wiley, New York. 500 pp.
Prospero J M and Nees R T 1986 Impact of the North African drought and El Nino on mineral dust in the Barbados trade winds. Nature 320, 735–738.
Ross M S, O'Brien J J and Flynn L J 1992 Ecological site classification of Florida Keys terrestrial habitats. Biotropica 24, 488–502.
Ross M S, O'Brien J J and Sternberg L 1994 Sea level rise and the reduction in pine forests in the Florida Keys. Ecol. App. 4, 144–156.
Sims J T and Johnson GV 1991 Micro-nutrient soil tests. In Micronutrients in Agriculture. Book Series no. 4. Eds. J Mortvedt, F R Cox, L M Shuman and B M Welch. pp. 427–476. Soil Sci. Soc. of Amer., Madison, WI.
Soltanpour P N and Schwab A P 1977 A new soil test for simultaneous extraction of micro-and macro-nutrients in alkaline soils. Comm. Soil Sci. Plant Anal. 8, 195–207.
Soil Survey Division, NRCS, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture 2000 Soil series description of Kona and Honokohau series. USDA, Washington, D.C.
Soil Survey Staff 1972 Procedures for collection of soil samples and methods of analysis for soil survey. Soil Survey Investigation Report, No.1. USDA. Soil Conservation Service, U.S. Govt. Printing Office. Washington, D.C.
Strong A M and Bancroft G T 1994 Patterns of deforestation and fragmentation of seasonal deciduous and mangrove forests in the Upper Florida Keys. Bull. Mar. Sci. 54, 795–804.
U. S. Dept. Agriculture, NRCS 1995 Soil survey of Monroe County, Keys Area, Florida. Supt. of Documents, Washiington, D.C.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, NRCS 2000 Kona series, Honokohau series. www.statlab.iastate.edu. Ames, Ia.
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Salinity Lab Staff 1954 Diagnosis and improvement of saline and alkali soils. U.S. Supt of Documents, Washington, D.C.
U.S. Dept. Agriculture, Soil Survey Staff 1975 Soil taxonomy: A basic system of classification for making and interpreting soil surveys. Handbook no. 436. U.S. Govt. Printing Office, Washington. D.C.
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service 1990 Soil Survey of Polk County FL. U.S. Govt. Printing Office. Washington, D.C.
U.S. Dept. Agriculture, Soil Survey Staff 1993 Soil Survey Manual. Supt. of Documents, Washington, D.C.
Vacher H L 1978 Hydrogeology of Bermuda-significance of across-the-island permeability. J. Hydrol. 39, 376–426.
Walter H 1985 Vegetation of the Earth and ecological systems of the geo-biosphere. Springer-Verlag New York Inc., Secaucus, NJ, USA.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ross, M., Coultas, C. & Hsieh, Y. Soil-productivity relationships and organic matter turnover in dry tropical forests of the Florida Keys. Plant and Soil 253, 479–492 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024843130866
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024843130866